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Field hockey

Howard Stampede travel

The Howard Stampede 7th/8th grade team 4 completed an undefeated season with the championship of Harvest Hockey. Stampede 4 entered the tournament with an 8-0 record. A divisional three-game sweep, moved the team into the playoff round.

The front line play of Caleigh Covell, Lexi Rieu, Julia Sheehan, Maddie Farley, Rachel Hooper and Jenna Vintz accounted for most of the scoring. In a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the quarterfinals against Cockeysville Vintz scored as time ran out in the first half.

Sheehan, Covell and Vintz combined for the goals in a 3-0 semifinal victory.

Stampede scored midway throughout the first half against Towsontowne in the finals with another tally by Vintz and went to win the championship, 2-0.

The key to Stampede's win was the transitional play of halfbacks Megan Hooper, Kayla Rieu, Katie Armstrong, Deanna Bulk and defender Gabby Cadoux. They made several key tackles and moved the ball back up field in all three playoff games.

Also contributing with strong midfield and front line support were Maddie Burke and MaryEllen Kelliher. Sophia Kalaris and Catie Pluta combined for six shutouts in goal in the tournament. Stampede received tournament goals from Covell (six), Lexie Rieu (five), Vintz (three), Sheehan (two), Burke, Hooper and Farley.

Running

Howard County Striders

For 17 years, the Run Through the Grapevine 8k course at Linganore Winery was actually a little short, so this year an extra hill was added around another grapevine to satisfy a more exact measurement. The unofficial story for the route change, though, was that Mark Buschman vowed to beat the best time of Pekka Stenholm, a former racing team member who had moved back to his native Finland. The two met at the Berlin Marathon earlier in the year and must have had a discussion about the Grapevine.

Race director Jason Tripp decided the course should be as accurate as possible, so a course extension occurred, and Buschman failed by 20 seconds to beat Stenholm's time (about 30:30). Everyone else reported slower times at the Grapevine 8k this year, too.

The extra 0.2-mile didn't bother Carlos Renjifo, who won the race by over 90 seconds, the largest margin by which anyone had ever won the race. Remjifo (29:07) led the field for essentially the entire race, although he inexplicably went off course twice. He was the only runner in the field to break half an hour on the treacherously hilly course.

The women's race was much closer. Initially, Howard Countian Rian Landers-Ramos assumed the lead, but then Jill Krebs took the lead after emerging from the second set of grapevines. Krebs and her teammate Sherry Stick battled back and forth through the woods. A perennial winner, Stick hung on to win by 12 seconds (35:03).

Elkridge's Donna Wecker outsprinted Jane Wickman, of Germantown, to claim the award as top master-woman (41:25).

The top master man was Mike Colaiacovo, who finished third overall (30:53) and earned and overall award. The next fastest master was grandmaster Keith McIntyre (34:03). Keith's stunning performance was blunted only by his son Conner's beating him.

The Run Through the Grapevine featured a plethora of team competitions.

The 18th annual and newly-recalibrated Run Through the Grapevine took place at the Linganore Winery in Carroll County Nov. 11.

The SAC U-11 Boys Premier II finished off their fall National Capital Soccer League season with a bang defeating Waldorf Strykers on Saturday and Annandale on Sunday. Goalkeeper Nicholas Lara and the rest of the team held both opposing teams scoreless.